Category: Houzz

So, you bought a vacation home — congratulations! But after saving and scrounging to pull off your dream, it may be that there isn’t much left over for actually furnishing said vacation home and making it, you know, livable. Once you have the nonnegotiables (working plumbing, wiring etc.) taken care of, it’s time to make your place your own. Here are 15 budget-friendly ways (including a …

If you’ve never remodeled before or are taking on a big project, you may feel a little nervous. How much will it cost? How long will it take? Between the large expense and the excitement of anticipating your finished remodel, it’s hard not to feel a little apprehensive. Knowing what to expect can help allay your fears and make you better prepared for what’s to come.

With backyard barbecues, clambakes and beach days, July is a time when many of us spend (or wish we were spending) more time outdoors than in. This month’s checklist offers ways to slash energy and water bills, keep your garden and patio in good shape, and protect your home while you’re away on a summer trip.

Concrete patios are often found in older homes, especially those built in the ’70s. But by now they’ve cracked and crumbled, leaving many homeowners wondering how to replace them, or even hoping to reclaim some of the green space lost by a particularly large patio.

If you count yourself in this group, here you’ll learn how to improve your outdoor space by removing or shrinking your concrete …

When you ask a contractor for an estimate, it usually includes the direct costs of construction plus a markup charged on some or all of those expenses. This is true whether you have a time-and-materials estimate or a fixed-price one, also known as a bid.

Ranging from 10 to 30 percent or possibly more, markups are often loosely described as covering overhead and profit, although they …

A well-lit beach garden creates a place for relaxing and listening to the ocean waves in the evening. But artificial lighting disrupts coastal animal behavior in perilous ways, and coastal areas often have outdoor lighting regulations because of the way light pollution can affect sensitive habitats for seabirds and sea turtles.

There are best practices for lighting beachside landscapes that protect animals from the ill effects …

A garage that faces the street (especially a large two- or three-car garage) can take up a lot of visual real estate. If your garage doors are in poor shape, clash with the style of your home or are just uninspired, replacing them can greatly increase your home’s curb appeal. Here are the need-to-know facts about updating your garage doors, covering style, cost and more.

A fixer-upper can often seem like a first-time homebuyer’s dream: an older home with great bones that simply needs an update or perhaps a few tweaks to its layout.

Unfortunately, even seemingly straightforward projects can be fraught with hidden problems discovered once work begins. While disclosure laws seek to protect homebuyers, sellers can always claim ignorance to problems like lead paint, and disclosures on distressed and …

You’ve just moved into a new home, and you’re ready to decorate. Or you’ve been in your home for a while and want to give the place a whole new look. And you want to do it yourself. The big question is: What’s it going to cost you?

There’s no magic formula for figuring out how much you can expect to spend on decorating. (Trust …